COMMENCEMENT TIME

 

Monday, May 20, 2024

 

COMMENCEMENT TIME

 

Jer 29:11

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

 

          It’s commencement time! Some have already graduated while others wait to turn their rings and tassels. Both pride and uncertainty excite and energize them. Questions about the future hang heavily in the air like moisture on a humid day.

 

          The march music we hear at every graduation, and known as “Pomp and Circumstance,” is actually “Land of Hope and Glory” composed by Edward Elgar and the words are by A. C. Benson. It was produced on the occasion of the coronation of King Edward VII. The words are as follows:

 

Land of hope and glory, mother of the free,

How shall we extol thee, who are born of thee?

Wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set;

God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet,

God, who made thee mighty, make thee mightier yet.

 

          In our scripture above, the children of Israel were going into captivity in 597 BC. Jeremiah gave them words of encouragement saying that God had plans for them. Plans of peace and not evil. Those plans would be finished because God is powerful, purposeful, and patient. He would not fail them. They could trust Him. They would be returned, in time, to the land of hope and glory!

 

Dear Lord, thank you for a sure and expected end. Bless all who are about to embark on a marvelous journey called commencement. AMEN